It is common to provide carriers for bottles and cans which are made of plastic material. For environmental purposes, the carrier may be made of a degradable plastic. One type of degradable plastic degrades under ultraviolet radiation such as sunlight or fluorescent lighting. If such a carrier is placed on a shelf and exposed to such radiation for a time, the carrier will lose strength and it is possible that the bottles or cans will fall out when the carrier is lifted.
Among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a degradable carrier which will not degrade in normal use and will only degrade when it becomes wet due to rainfall, water or snow; which carrier can be made at relatively low cost; and which effectively holds the bottles or cans during normal usage.
In accordance with the invention, a degradable bottle and degradable can carrier comprises a body having a plurality of openings for receiving the bottles or cans. The body is made of a plastic material which is degradable upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation. A water soluble ultraviolet absorber is applied to the exposed surface of the carrier such that the carrier is protected from degrading under ultraviolet radiation until such time that the carrier is discarded and becomes wet by rainfall, water or snow.